Bankrupt farmer says he won't leave without a fight

Bob Dearnley, of Burpham Court Farm, was declared bankrupt after losing his court case against the National Trust.

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A DEFIANT Guildford farmer insists he is going nowhere despite being ordered to leave his land in September next year.

Bob Dearnley, of Burpham Court Farm, was declared bankrupt in 2006 after losing a court battle over who was responsible for flooding on the site.

Now Guildford Borough Council has agreed to pay Mr Dearnley’s bankruptcy trustee £200,000 in order to take back possession of the farm.

The council Executive agreed to make an initial payment of £65,000 to the trustee with a further £135,000 to be paid once the land is vacant.

The trustee has served a notice on the council that Mr Dearnley and wife Margaret will leave the farm on September 28, 2008.

However, Mr Dearnley said he will not be leaving Burpham Court, which he has turned into a rare breeds animal centre.

“That’s what they’re saying but we won’t be going anywhere. We’re still fighting tooth and nail,” Mr Dearnley said.

“My wife (Margaret) has not been made bankrupt and she’s a tenant here. We’re not going.”

Mr Dearnley was ordered to pay the National Trust £100,000 last year after a court found flooding on his land was the result of a failure to maintain ditches.

But the farmer insisted the problem is caused by the trust dumping water on his land when the level of the River Wey rises and claims the farm has flooded 55 times since January 2004.

“The farm is half underwater and we’ve lost 60% of the winter feed. We’ve got no feed and no income to keep the farm going past the next two weeks,” Mr Dearnley said.

“We can’t sell the animals because of the foot and mouth restrictions. We can’t even afford to put them out of their misery because it costs £50 to remove a dead animal.”

The borough council’s head of legal and property services, Richard Lingard, said the money to pay the trustee will come from its Major Schemes Capital Programme, which is funded by a mix of capital receipts and reserves.

“The main creditor is the National Trust, which is owed money by Mr Dearnley following an award of costs against him arising out of his unsuccessful litigation against the trust,” he said.

Mr Lingard added that Mr Dearnley would need to seek independent legal advice if he believed his wife’s tenancy allowed them to stay at the farm.